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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.

Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.

Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

Fraud email example:

From: "Mr.Patrick Joseph" <mrpatrickj95@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2022 16:59:25 -0700
Subject: Reply Please

Dear Friend,

I am Mr.Patrick Joseph, a Senior Executive internal auditor with a
well-known bank here in Burkina Faso, West Africa. I have a business
transaction of ($27.5 million) that will benefit both of us. I decided
to email you directly believing that you will be an honest assistant
in this investment business proposal, if you will be interested please
reply to me immediately.

Sincerely,
Mr. Patrick Joseph.

Anti-fraud resources: